RailHawks announce schedule, two big signings

RailHawks fan Jaime Vargas holds up a smoke-maker as time expires during the Carolina RailHawks' season-opening home game against the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Saturday, April 19, 2014. "I'm the one in charge of smoke," said Vargas. The RailHawks won the game 4-1. newsobserver.com

RailHawks fan Jaime Vargas holds up a smoke-maker as time expires during the Carolina RailHawks' season-opening home game against the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Saturday, April 19, 2014. "I'm the one in charge of smoke," said Vargas. The RailHawks won the game 4-1. newsobserver.com

In the last week, the Carolina RailHawks signed one of the best players in the North American Soccer League, resigned the only player remaining from the club’s first season and announced the full 2015 schedule.

Midfielder Mark Anderson, who spent the last three years with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, is on board as of Wednesday. So too is “Mr. RailHawk” Kupono Low, a defender who has been with the team all eight seasons and will be embarking on his ninth in Cary after announcement came out on Thursday.

The fall NASL schedule was announced on Tuesday, which completed the 2015 league schedule for the RailHawks. The fall season, which starts on July 4, features every NASL team playing each other twice, while each team gets each other once in the spring, which starts April 4.

Anderson arrives: Mark Anderson has been a thorn in the side of the RailHawks. Now, he’ll try to help them.

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“We are very happy to add Mark to our roster,” said RailHawks head coach Colin Clarke in a statement. “Since joining the league in 2012 he has proven his abilities. Every time we played against the Strikers we knew he was a player to watch and now we are happy to have him on our side.”

Anderson scored 19 goals in 65 games for the Strikers, earning NASL Best XI honors in 2012.

Low remains: Low started the inaugural RailHawks match in 2007 and scored the team’s first goal. He’s earned NASL Best XI once and held down the left back position in the 220 matches and eight seasons that have followed.

“He is good from a standpoint of helping with the young kids and that is important to us, he also brings that continuity with someone who has been here for a long time,” Carolina coach Colin Clarke said in a statement. “ The players we have signed this year have a little more leadership and experience, we want to win a championship and Kupono is a big part of that.”

Low has played at least 25 matches in each season with the RailHawks.

Season schedule: Carolina will start the NASL fall season with a bang on July 4 against visiting Minnesota United. It will end at home on Friday, Oct. 30 against the Indy Eleven.

The rest of the fall is a mix of some Wednesday and Friday matches in addition to Saturday. In the last two seasons, the RailHawks have only hosted games on Saturday.

The spring season is 10 matches long with about month before the 20-match fall schedule starts. With exception to the spring opener at home against the Ottawa Fury on April 4 (1 p.m.) all other home games will have 7:30 p.m. start times.

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